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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. rule — a law
  4. field — for sport
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wax — to grow
  10. hand — help
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. spell — letters
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. field — farmland
  18. spell — a short time
  19. race — humankind
  20. field — a subject
  21. race — a contest
  22. rule — government
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com